Archive for the ‘Speech’ Category

On March 4, Michael Costa addressed a room full of new and regular Supper Club guests on the topic of governance. A combination of anecdotes, frank analysis and practical policy, the talk can be accessed here:

The Shaken and Stirred Christmas Prohibition Speakeasy was a resounding success, with something for everyone to disagree with. Debate and argument raged well into the night, fueled by some decent moonshine from our favourite bootleggers, Winestar. To get riled up again or get furious by your lonesome, we’ve provided the speeches and audio from the night, as well as some photos, below.

“At present, publicly funded programs operate to provide syringes and needles to injecting drug users with the clear understanding that they will be used to administer prohibited drugs. In these circumstances to shrink from the provision of safe, sanitary premises where users can safely inject is somewhat short sighted. The health and public safety benefits outweigh the policy considerations against condoning otherwise unlawful behaviour.” (Justice James Wood, 1997)

“…What is so wrong with being offended? Is being offended such a bad thing in itself – why do we need to live in a world that is so bloody inoffensive? We’ve all been offended at some stage in our lives. If not, then we’re not confronting issues we should be. Imagine if every time you were offended by something you could stop it from happening. Would you, or more importantly should you? And think of how many times you’ve offended someone. Imagine if they had the right to restrict what you could say. Being offended is one of the costs of free speech, but it’s a price worth paying… If an ad offends you switch it off and don’t buy the product!”

“Given that people imagine that sex workers are women and clients are male, it can only be that we need to be protected from male clients. Hello to the crisis in masculinity. And if you look at the logical conclusion of this approach, in Sweden they have taken it to the next level, and protected us by criminalising the clients. For good. Sorry, I mean for our good. Oh wouldn’t that be great?! Making my source of income, the men that I see, criminal?”

“Some people actually fear guns, like some fear heights or spiders. The term for fear of guns is hoplophobia. People who fear guns are not open to rational persuasion, just as some people can never relax when there’s a spider on the wall no matter how much scientific data is offered explaining how spiders can’t jump.”

Sounds like it’d be a hoot to attend – Anthony Loewenstein vs. a supper table of Right Wing Death Beasts. Would the RWDBs be able to stop vengefully slavering at Loewenstein for long enough to make polite tea-time conversation?

Denis Dutton recently spoke at a Supper Club on what attracts us to certain objects and people, and why waste has a symbolic function. We’d like to thank him for allowing us to post the recording of his talk on the blog. To listen to it or download the file, click here. (more…)

As promised, the recording of Woody Brock’s talk on ‘A Unified Solution to Six of the World’s Principal Problems’ is now available to listen to and download, either from this link or the link in the mail below.

In a fascinating analysis of why we’re in the mess we’re in economically, Dr Horace ‘Woody’ Brock, President of Strategic Economic Decisions, talked about what’s right with capitalism and wrong with the way it’s currently practised. Identifying six key issues which have led to our current situation and suggesting ways of fixing them, Dr Brock gave us a taste of his latest thoughts – a verbal first draft of his upcoming paper.

Thanks to Damian Spruce for arranging this speaker and, of course, to Dr Brock for taking time out on the weekend to talk and eat with us. Thank you also to Holly McLeay for her musical reminder of the alternatives to capitalism during the speech.

On Sunday, 3 August 2008, Frank Furedi talked to us at the Supper Club on Sunday, under the title:

Top of the Pops:
How ideology and policy have been replaced by populist politics in the West

In his very engaging style, he discussed autonomy and welfare, our ‘culture of fear’ and the threat political correctness poses to our ability to identify and deal with the issues which face society today.

Click the link to download the talk given by Frank Furedi at the Supper Club on Sunday.